Work proceeds as dignitaries break ground at Mercedes

Thursday

May 2, 2013 at 12:01 AM

VANCE | Groundbreakings typically hail the start of construction. But on Wednesday, Gov. Robert Bentley joined Mercedes-Benz officials to ceremoniously turn shovels full of dirt while heavy-construction vehicles roared behind them.

By Patrick RupinskiBusiness Editor

VANCE | Groundbreakings typically hail the start of construction. But on Wednesday, Gov. Robert Bentley joined Mercedes-Benz officials to ceremoniously turn shovels full of dirt while heavy-construction vehicles roared behind them.The belated groundbreaking was for Mercedes-Benz U.S. International’s logistics center. Construction on the center began weeks ago. The $75 million facility will be a 900,000-square-foot, climate-controlled, high-technology warehouse where thousands of parts and components will be sorted and sequenced as needed for the Mercedes vehicles assembled at Vance.“We customize every car we make,” said Markus Schaefer, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International.That means vehicles moving along the Mercedes assembly lines will have different components, so it is important for the right set of parts to get to the right vehicle, he said.Construction of the logistics center had to begin earlier because the facility must be finished, fully equipped and operating by the end of the year to accommodate the start of C-Class sedan production. The sedans are being added to the MBUSI line-up, with the first American-made C-Class going to dealers next year.The logistics center, which is as large as MBUSI’s original assembly plant, also will handle the sequencing of parts for the M-Class and GL-Class sport utility vehicles and R-Class crossover vehicles now made at Vance, and for an all-new fifth vehicle — a still unnamed SUV that Mercedes plans to add to MBUSI production in 2015.Schaefer said the logistics center will have about 240 truck deliveries and handle at least 20,000 bins containing about 2.9 million parts each day.The center will have about 600 employees, which will include Mercedes employees and private contractors and service providers.Those jobs caught the attention of Bentley. “Six-hundred jobs is tremendous for this area,” he said, noting the families of the 600 workers will have a better life.“Twenty years ago when Mercedes-Benz decided to come to Tuscaloosa, we didn’t know the impact it would have on Alabama,” he said.Since then the plant has expanded several times and has become one of the state’s largest private employers. Mercedes also has attracted dozens of automotive suppliers to the state and paved the way for Honda and Hyundai to open auto plants in Alabama. Mercedes showed what Alabama workers can do, Bentley said.“Because of Mercedes, we were able to recruit other great international companies to Alabama — companies like Airbus,” which announced plans last year to build a major plane manufacturing facility in Mobile.The magnitude of the logistics center and the tight deadline for its completion was not lost on Bill Harbert, CEO of B.L. Harbert Construction, the Birmingham company handling the construction.“This is the one of the most exciting jobs we have ever been part of,” said Harbert whose company is listed among the country’s top 100 construction companies.“The sheer size and the time schedule we are on makes this a very challenging project,” he said.On Friday, his crews poured 62,000 square feet of cement and on Monday, they poured another 62,000 square feet. That was the most cement the company ever poured in a single day, Harbert said.After the groundbreaking, Bentley met with reporters and said he wants the Legislature to act on several items before it adjourns on May 20. Most important is passing budgets for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1., he said He said he also is interested in bills to build a convention center at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores and to revamp the state’s Medicaid program, which helps pay for health care for low-income individuals and families.Bentley also said he has not decided if he will make a permanent appointment for Tuscaloosa County sheriff. The governor appointed Billy Sharp as sheriff after longtime sheriff Ted Sexton resigned earlier this year.At the time, Bentley said the appointment was interim. The governor said he is still talking to people about the sheriff position, but then added: “Billy Sharp is doing a great job.”Bentley said the sheriff’s term ends in 18 months and the primary election for sheriff is about a year away. Sharp has indicated he does not plan to run in next year’s election.“There are a number of candidates likely to run,” he said, noting being appointed to the job so close to the election might be an advantage or a disadvantage to a candidate.